Post WWII photo ?

Battleship TEXAS Foundation

Newsletter of the Battleship Texas Foundation Winter 2016

In this issue . . . The Director’s Chair Pg1 FTV Report Pg2 Hard Hat Tours Pg3 Corporate Supporters Curator’s Corner Pg4 Overnight Program Pg5 Supporters Pg6 In Honor Of Pg7 Membership Forms Pg8

Did the N. G. fly Mustangs in ’45 ?

From The Director’s Chair

I am probably the last person to get the opportunity to say Happy New Year to you but a least I got mine in. We are looking forward to a wonderful year with a lot of things on the drawing board. I wanted to share just a few of our plans for 2016 with you.

The big news is that we expect to return to our efforts to complete the structural repairs that began on The Texas in 2014. The best news is that thanks to all of the efforts that were put into our lobbying efforts, we were able to secure enough funds from The Texas Legislature, to not only start back to work on the structural repairs but enough funds to complete them. We are anticipating that work should begin again in the late spring to early summer. Once we begin you can expect Neil Tho-mas, from TPWD, to return to The Dreadnought with his up-dates regarding the progress of the work. We are really excited about this one.

The next item is that we will be installing 28 tons of new HVAC on the Texas. This was made possible by our friends at CAPS who donated much of the equipment and its installation. The remaining funds that were needed were donated by The Herzstein Foundation and The Brown Foundation. This donation will help us with a long standing need and is scheduled for in-stallation by spring.

Thanks to the efforts of Andy Smith and his staff at The Texas, they were able to secure a federal grant and along with a nice donation from Shell we will roll out, for the first time ever, an audio tour for The Texas.

These are just a few things that we will accomplish this year. If you have not been out to visit us recently I sure hope you will find a time to do so. We are always happy to see you. Don’t for-get that a great way to see The Texas is to sign up for one of our Hard Hat Tours. If you have children or grandchildren you may also be interested in our Overnight Education Program.

Thanks for all your support and may 2016 be a blessed year for you.

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By Don Fischer

Restoration

As reported in an earlier addition of Dreadnought, the First Texas Volunteers (FTV) was preparing to restore the Combat In-formation Center (CIC) by removing old storage and performing a general clean-up. During this time, due to new protocols drafted by Texas Parks & Wildlife, removal of the existing lead paint was to be contracted out rather than performed by the volunteers, themselves. The FTV is funding this abatement in the amount of approximately $12,000. Happily, this abatement has now been completed and a team has moved back into the space prepping the space for rust inhibitor and priming. Following that, many hours will be spent in the rehabilitation of all the equipment within, including radar control panels, tracer and plotting tables, radios and consoles, electrical panels, etc.

A two-man team has initiated work in the Movie Locker. This space, which housed training films and slides, as well as the lat-est Hollywood releases of the day, has suffered much from the humidity and extreme temperature changes during the seasons as well as water intrusion from above. These leaks have now been fixed and paint is being stripped. (Note: This space had previously been restored, so there is no such concern about lead contamination as was the case with the CIC above.) Detailed work includes the built-in desk, wall lockers, motor, and cura-torial artifacts such as the projector, reels, re-winder, etc.

The Brig refurbishment project, which had successfully been concluded this past quarter, is being expanded somewhat, with additional cells being upgraded for greater visitor viewing. This was met with enthusiasm by the project team.

A new secondary project has been initiated. This is the resto-ration of the starboard aft 40mm Anti-Aircraft Mount. The mount had been frozen in train (turning left and right) and eleva-tion and was extremely weathered. While still very stiff, the mount can again be trained and elevated, but much work is still to be done. Once completed, this mount will offer visiting chil-dren more opportunity for adventure and the exercise of their imagination.

It should be noted that the ship’s regular staff restored the starboard waist 40mm mount this past year. They did an out-standing job and this mount is very busy, not only with the gen-eral public, but with the Overnight Program and special tours.

And, of course, the wood deck continues its never-ending maintenance regimen. However, with more recently identified water-proofing and coating materials, the end result on areas worked is a strong, tight and cosmetically appealing deck.

Advisory Directors

Hon. James A. Baker, III 61st Secretary of State

ADM. James L. Holloway, III USN (Ret.), Former CNO

Ned S. Holmes Commissioner, Texas

Transportation Commission

Board of Trustees

Anthony K. Gregory, Chairman

Thomas J. Perich, Vice Chairman

Donald H. Fischer, Treasurer

Rey Gonzales, Jr., Secretary

Brad Bouillion

Jimmy Burke

Penny H. Butler

David Dewhurst

Theodore S. Hirtz

RADM. J. Weldon Koenig, USN (Ret.)

John O’Neil

Michael N. Pearson

CAPT. Clifford H. Royal, USN (Ret.)

Thomas C. Wright

Bruce D. Bramlett

Execut ive D irector ;

bruce@battleshiptexas.org

TPWD Ship Staff

Andy Smith, Ship Manager

Travis Davis, Maintenance / Restoration

Stephanie Croatt, Curator

Hard Hat Tours

Continued from page 2

The November 2015 Hard Hat Tour, the second tour of the season, was a success and s uc c e e d e d i n m a k i ng $2,464.23. This was also the first time FTV used a web based reservation system and it was considered a positive addition. Most importantly, all participants responded that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

By the time this edition of Dreadnought reaches its audi-ence, the January 2016 Hard Hat Tour will also have been conducted. It is being held on Saturday, January 16.

The next Hard Hat Tour, in which reservations can be made, is scheduled for Satur-day, March 19. For more infor-mation or reservations, please v i s i t the webs i t e a t www.firsttexasvolunteers.org.

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. . . Yes, we have hard hats you can use.

Shell made a donation to match part of a federal grant. The funds are to provide the first ever audio tour for The Battleship Texas. Shell has been a long time supporter of The Battleship Texas and BTF would like to thank them for their continued support.

A donation from The HERZSTEIN Foundation will help fund the expansion of The Battleship Texas Overnight Education Program. This includes new HVAC systems as well as a new restroom, sleeping areas, and classroom. The Herzstein Foundation as been a long time supporter of The Battleship Texas and we look forward to many more years of working with them.

Pictured above is: Kandace Trujillo, Overnight Education Program; Amando Accardo, Shell; Bruce Bramlett, Executive Director, Battleship Texas Foundation; Janet Noble, Shell

Many thanks to our Generous Corporate Supporters

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Whew! Things have certainly calmed down around here after the rush of special events and holidays last quarter. Now that we are fi-nally able to catch our breath, we are taking a look at the year to come, and it looks great! Here are a few exciting things on the horizon:

Structural Repairs The paperwork has begun for the next round of structural repairs, and we hope to have a contractor begin work around the boiler rooms within the year. But first, we will need to survey the areas identified for work to evaluate the scope and details of the work to be done. Then, we will go out to bid for a con-tractor who can make those areas sounder.

Audio Tours Speaking of paperwork, we are currently wait-ing for our State Historic Preservation Office (Texas Historical Commission) and the Na-tional Parks Service to give us the green light to begin producing audio tours for the ship. We received word last summer that the Na-tional Parks Service awarded the ship a Mari-time Heritage Grant for a little less than $50,000 for producing audio tours for adults and children, in English and Spanish. Even though we’ve had to cool our heels the past few months, we are still excited about being able to bring this new interpretive offering to the public. We are hoping these tours will help the ship come alive for the ship’s prospective stewards and supporters.

Bringing Our Collections to the People, Digitization Sarah Conlon, the ship’s collections manager, will continue working behind the scenes to ensure the safety and accessibility of objects in the ship’s collections. One of the major pro-jects Sarah will be tackling this year is collec-tions digitization. Digital copies of all the pho-tos, postcards, and documents in our collec-tion will make it easier for staff, volunteers, and researchers to get the information they need from the collection. The University of North Texas has granted the ship digitization

services to create high-quality scans of the ship’s historic photograph collection. These scans are also uploaded to the Portal to Texas History (http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/BTXPC/), where anyone who is in-terested can browse through the images. A new batch of photos will be added to The Por-tal this summer. Sarah and ship’s staff are also working on establishing a partnership with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image to professionally digitize the ship’s 1931 Lanni film, which is the only remaining film that portrays life aboard the ship during her active service. Once digitized, this film can be place online for easy viewing for anyone who is in-terested.

Interpretive Training and Projects The ship’s interpreter, Sarah Faulkner, has been selected to undergo Master Interpreter Training through TPWD’s Interpretive Services Program this year. She will continue to share some of her interpretive wisdom with the ship’s docents by presenting interpretive trainings on Second Saturdays out at the ship. Sarah will also hone her interpretive skills during her Master Interpreter Training by completing three projects that will benefit the ship. These projects will include creating the-matic travelling trunks that teachers can check out and use in their classrooms, and an activity booklet for children to use when they visit. This activity booklet will engage kids in the ship’s story, and possibly dovetail with the audio tour for kids.

2016 is looking like an exciting year, and we certainly have our work cut out for us! We are all looking forward to this labor of love, and welcome anyone who is interested in helping out.

By Stephanie Croatt, Curator

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overnight@battleshiptexas.org

or (281) 542-0684 the office.

Overnight Educational Program By, Kandace Trujillo

Battleship TEXAS Overnight Youth Education Program

We have had a busy fall at the youth overnight education program. We thank the 26 groups and 575 campers that par-ticipated through the months of October through December. This included 326 youth and 246 adults. We have scheduled over 600 participants through April. If you would like to check for availability, please visit our new overnight calendar on our website, battleshiptexas.org.

Who participates in the Battleship TEXAS Overnight Program? We have groups from Boy Scouts of America, Cub Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, birthday parties, and church groups. These groups are mostly from Texas. Occasionally, we get groups from outside the state. The girl scouts from Eastern Oklahoma have made participating in the Battleship TEXAS over-night program an annual event.

The participants of the overnight pro-gram truly experience a one of a kind pro-gram. The program is led by knowledge-able docents that led the participants around the TEXAS. Participants also watch a documentary film about the TEXAS and participate in an informational scavenger hunt. Every participant receives a battle-ship TEXAS patch and completion certifi-

cate.

Where do the participants sleep? Par-ticipants sleep in Casemate 6 or Casemate 10. These casemates are located on sec-ond deck. These casemates were once home to 5” inch guns. These casemates are climate controlled. The Battleship TEXAS Foundation has received a $20,000 grant to help with the costs of updating the air conditioning sys-tem from the Brown Foundation. We thank them for their support of the Battleship TEXAS Foundation and the Overnight Edu-cation Program.

We are always looking for new tour guides for our program. If you are inter-ested or want more information please contact Kandace Trujillo at:

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Paul S. Ache Jerry and Judy Berard Irvin Berry Wolf H.Bock

Darrell Brewer N. Bruce Creswell Rush F. Evans

John Kirby Ewing William G. Fisher George F. Fuderer

Darel Gallucci Edward J. Glenney Marilyn Goodwin

Lee and Joan Hendrickson Joe Holcomb William Huf

Brent D. Johnson M. Wayne Jones Dwight B. Kauffman

Clarence L. Landon Maureen S. Lofberg Gregory K. Lusby

Paul J. Martinello John H. McCormick Corky McLelland

Daniel L. Milsop Douglas Ress Richard L. Ring

Bernard A. Rosenberg Jim Russell Sam Salvato

Robert S. Schlemmer William R. Seidenstein W. H. Sentesi

Troy Smith Edwin G. Theiss Donald R. Wagoner

Michael Kelly William Wolfe Don E. Zatopek

Support ers

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HB Box William G. Fisher Captain Charles A. Alcorn

JD Bryant, Jr. Seaman Harold H. Kieselhorst Thomas Gould

Robert R. Meadows Ken Hegler Admiral Earl Trosino

Don Wiggins William F. Leaky PM4 Robert S. O'Brien

Deceased World War II Veterans Donald G. Oakes

Class of 1945, USNA CDR George A. Fuderer

Wallace L. Schlemmer Surviving Battleship TEXAS veterans

Michael C. Agresti, Sr Walter R. Clough SGT. Geo R. Milsop

Charles D. Hollan Walter Ress Charles V. Harrell

Lynn Evans Joe Bertrand Captain James Eaves

Robert Conrad Brewer Joseph J. Martinello, Jr. Clyde Berry

Minor Newton Hardin Poston Tapp Victor Jares

Lt. Wesley P. Winkler Captain Charles Alcorn Joe W. Holcomb

Vincent Gordon, Kathryn Rudy, Kenneth and Kathy Lusby

Everett G. Curtis III Alex Sentesi Vernon J. Adams

James L. Lamb Lt. D.G Chamberlain Sam J. Salvato, Sr

Benton E. Buell Capt. John F. Crowe Roy Lee Hammonds

In Hono r Of

Membership Benefits

Individual. $35 Entry level membership entitles Member to receive a free subscription to the BTF quarterly e-mail newsletter “The Dreadnought” and a free subscription to TPWD’s bi-weekly e-mail newsletter “The Battle Report” (if you provide your e-mail address). Family. $ 45 Everything above, plus invitations to San Jacinto Site activities and special events. Supporting $ 150 Everything above, plus one (1) Hard Hat Tour. Benefactor. $ 500 Everything above, plus two (2) Hard Hat Tours Corporate. $2,000 Everything above, plus publication of your firm’s name in “The Dreadnought” and at special events held aboard the TEXAS. USS TEXAS Veterans. $10 Benefits the same as for Individual Member.

Mail to:

BATTLESHIP TEXAS FOUNDATION One Riverway

Suite 2200 Houston, Texas 77056

Phone 713-827-9620

Membership Application

I am pleased to support the USS TEXAS with my membership in the Battleship TEXAS Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization.

Individual $35.00 Family $45.00 Supporting $150.00

Benefactor $500.00 Corporate $2,000.00

USS TEXAS Veteran $10.00

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One Riverway, Suite 2200 Houston, Texas 77056